Beds – Invalid bed or surgical support – With auxiliary means to raise a portion of user above...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-08
2003-11-25
Santos, Robert G. (Department: 3673)
Beds
Invalid bed or surgical support
With auxiliary means to raise a portion of user above...
C005S607000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06651281
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a support assembly means which support means is adapted to conform to a range of configurations. In particular the present invention relates to a support assembly means for supporting a body held thereon in a range of different positions. Even more particularly the support assembly means finds specific application in relation to treatment of long term bed ridden patients.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are many problems faced by long term bed ridden patients substantially incapable of supporting their own movement. Persons who stay in contact with bed support for long periods of time are prone to suffer from poor blood circulation and decubitus ulcers (bed sores) as a result of a generally immobile condition. Generally patients falling into this category have required in the past significant and repeated attention by hospital staff, person carers or relatives so as to avoid lying or sitting in a single position for extended periods of time.
Problems have often been exacerbated due to low hospital staffing levels and therefore failure to provide adequate frequency of patient position change. Even further difficulties are experienced when such adequate frequency of change requires disturbance of a patient day and night and labour intensity associated with frequent physical lifting of patients generally undertaken by nursing staff. Particular occupational health and safety problems have been highlighted when repeated heavy lifting is required.
There have been many attempts in the prior art to address the above problems. For example in GB 2045603 there is disclosed a bed in which a patient can be supported by an open net mesh which is attached across a support frame, which is in turn supported by a base frame. The support frame consists of two spaced parallel longitudinal members which are adapted to fold inwards thus providing the net mesh to support a patients weight. The means by which a patient is rolled comprises a combination of tilting the support frame and tensioning the mesh net at various points, depending on what part of a patients body the net is supporting. This type of bed is somewhat clumsy and requires presence of nursing staff so as to appropriately apply tension to the mesh net during the course of operating the bed.
In EP 262771 there is disclosed a sub-bed mattress assembly adapted to roll a patient. The sub-bed mattress consists of two leafs divided longitudinally and overlaying a respective lateral portion of a supporting base connected by hinges. There is disposed beneath each leaf bladders for independently raising each leaf so as to roll a bed occupant. When one bladder is inflated the overlaying mattress portion is raised and the whole mattress moved sideways so that a person lying thereon is correspondingly rolled. This system is again cumbersome, expensive and cannot be used to form a cradle configuration. In this prior art there is inevitably a risk of a patient rolling out of the bed.
Other prior art such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,598, while a cradle type configuration is adopted, in order for rocking motion to commence so as to roll a patient some patient motion is required to initiate rocking movement. In addition the cradle configuration is attained by providing multiple hinges, collapsing spring assemblies and telescoping components, which add to the complexity of this apparatus.
It is known that a conventional hospital bed can adopt a variety of positions found to be useful for aiding treatment or improving comfort of persons suffering certain medical conditions. The following positions for example the trendelenberg 15°, reverse trend 15°, cardiac chair, vascular and posture relaxation are known to persons skilled in the art. A conventional hospital bed can be raised or lowered for convenience in any of the above positions, and can be tilted to some extent with difficulty.
The applicant has found that prior art means of turning patients have suffered the drawback of not being able to do so in all available conventional positions. There has, as previously mentioned, therefore been a long felt need to address this problem so as to provide a means of turning a patient in any combination of desired bed positions.
The present invention intends to ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There has been a long felt need in this art to provide an efficient and cost effective means of improving patient care and quality of life for long term immobile bed ridden patients.
Accordingly the present invention provides in a first aspect a bed assembly for altering the position of a person supported thereon including:
a longitudinal support frame having a support surface for receiving a person thereon;
a longitudinal cradle means extending over the support surface, the cradle means being attached to the support surface substantially along a central axis in the longitudinal direction thereof, the cradle means further incorporating a recess extending along side portions of the cradle means in the longitudinal direction thereof adapted for receiving and engaging an engaging means;
a cradle support engaging means mounted to the support frame in close relation to said recess adapted to be extendable and retractable in engaged relation within said recess along said longitudinal side portions of said cradle means so as to promote change in configuration of said cradle means;
a first actuator mechanism disposed beneath the support frame in physical coupling relation to the engaging means for extending or retracting the engaging means;
wherein in a first condition the first actuator means causes the engaging means to extend towards and be received by said recess extending along said longitudinal side portions of the cradle means, thereafter causing the cradle means to move, in positive engagement with the engaging means, with extending movement of the engaging means between a position of rest and a substantially concave configuration about the central longitudinal axis of the support surface and in a second condition the first actuator means causes the engaging means to retract so as to correspondingly promote movement of the cradle means from said substantially concave configuration to said resting position conforming with the support surface, the change in configuration of the cradle means between said first and second condition being controllably continuous, staggered or cyclicle so as to aid movement of a person lying on said support surface.
In a second aspect of the invention there is disclosed a bed assembly for altering the position of a person supported thereon including:
a longitudinal support frame having a support surface for receiving a person thereon;
a base support on which the support is centrally pivotally mounted;
a longitudinal cradle means extending over the support surface, the cradle means being attached to the support surface substantially along a central axis in the longitudinal direction thereof, the cradle means further incorporating a recess extending along side portions of the cradle means in the longitudinal direction thereof adapted for receiving and engaging an engaging means;
a cradle support engaging means mounted to the support frame in close relation to said recess adapted to be extendable and retractable in engaged relation within said recess along said longitudinal side portions of said cradle means so as to promote change in configuration of said cradle means;
a first actuator mechanism disposed beneath the support frame in physical coupling relation to the engaging means for extending or retracting the engaging means;
a second actuator mechanism coupled between the base support, and longitudinal support frame for promoting independent pivot movement of the support frame about its longitudinal central axis;
wherein in a first condition the first actuator means causes the engaging means to extend towards and be received by said recess extending along said longitudinal side portions of the cradle means, thereafter causing the cradle su
Donjac Pty. Ltd.
Hochberg D. Peter
Mellino Sean
Santos Robert G.
Vieyra Katherine R.
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